US President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping whether China would be interested in buying American weapons while hosting the Chinese leader last week, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said on Sunday.
Perdue told Fox News: “President Trump continues to say, hey, we sell arms to other people around the world. He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point.”
Remarks Come Amid Taiwan Arms Sale Delay
Perdue made the remarks during an interview on US policy towards Taiwan, which has been waiting for months for Trump to approve a new arms sales package worth $14 billion. The proposed sale follows a record multibillion-dollar arms deal unveiled in December 2025.
Trump’s commitment to protecting Taiwan has previously faced questions. During a meeting with Xi in Beijing in May, Trump said he was keeping the $14 billion Taiwan arms package in abeyance, calling it a “very good negotiating chip” in dealings with China.
Washington has long followed a policy of strategic ambiguity over whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion. However, under the decades-old Taiwan Relations Act, the US is required to provide Taipei with sufficient military equipment to defend itself.
Beijing Opposes US Arms Sales To Taiwan
China has repeatedly said it “resolutely opposes” US arms sales to Taiwan. Beijing regards the self-ruled island as a breakaway province despite never having ruled it and has not renounced the use of force to take control of it.
During Xi’s meeting with Trump in Washington last week, the Chinese leader urged the US President to oppose “Taiwan independence,” according to a readout by China’s official Xinhua news agency.
Following Perdue’s interview, the White House told the New York Times that the US had no plans to sell weapons to China. The State Department said: “US law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.”
Taiwan Points To ‘Severe’ Military Threat
Before Perdue’s interview, Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi highlighted what he described as the severe military threat posed by China.
“Taiwan faces a severe situation in the Taiwan strait. Even though China’s economy is declining, it continues investing more resources into building military capacity. Under this context, the US very much understands our defence needs,” Chen told reporters in Taipei.
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Perdue Says US Taiwan Policy Unchanged
Trump has not referred to the proposed Taiwan arms sale since last week’s summit. On Saturday, he said only that Xi understood his position on Taiwan.
Perdue told CNBC on Friday that Trump had made no change to US policy towards Taiwan, including its policy on arms sales.
